


Bratapfel

by traumschwinge



Series: Chocolatier AU [7]
Category: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Domestic Fluff, Family Issues, Judaism, M/M, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, POV Jewish Character, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-06 00:10:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5395364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traumschwinge/pseuds/traumschwinge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik hates December, he really does. It's all stress and little fun, at least according to him. And indeed it is the busiest time of the year, not just for him, but for most people around him. And everyone needs the time of others, too. <br/>But there are nice parts too, the early dark evenings that are perfect for cuddling, the parties each week when you can hang out your friends and family. <br/>The only change Erik really wants to have made to this time is a 30 hour day, maybe, because that would mean enough sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Week 1 (25.11.-27.11.)

**Author's Note:**

> A (very) little word of warning: If you don't like the idea of Charles using meds to suppress his telepathy, you might want to pass on this fic. I tried to be sensitive about it, but it makes more sense for me to include it than to leave it out.

November was coming to an end as it did almost every year. Despite the shot he’d gotten in early October and despite his healing factor, Logan had managed to catch the flu. Knowing that it happened, the kitchen was well stocked with ginger, honey and boxes of tissues. He wasn’t a needy patient as he tended to sleep it off and otherwise suffer in silence, but Erik still tried to be home as often as possible. This year, Charles was there too, a nice change as far as Erik’s bad consciousness was concerned. It meant Erik could safely stay a little longer at the café if he needed to during one of the busier times of the year.

It didn’t necessarily mean that Erik actually did. Over the years of this happening, he had worked out a routine that let him spend as much of Logan’s awake time with him as possible. He left in the middle of the night so he could be at the café by four, get everything set up for when the employees came in at six, open half an hour later, stay until breakfast rush was over somewhen after nine and then come back home to check on Logan before going back to the café for the afternoon and close in the evening. The first few days, Charles had complained about Erik leaving so god damn early, but he had started sleeping through it soon enough.

That ended when Erik came in Wednesday around noon, feeling frozen all over and just glad it wasn’t snowing like it had on Monday. Instead of finding one sneezing bundle of blankets and misery on the couch there were two. Erik immediately felt second hand ill as he came in. He sighed. At least they had managed to make themselves tea. That was some improvement over Logan being sick alone.

”Erik?” Logan turned his head a little when Erik came in to check if their tea was still warm enough. “Why you’re here already?” He closed his eyes again. Charles was dozing against his shoulder.

Erik checked his watch. He was actually later than usual, having been held up in the café by a regular wanting to order for Christmas. He guessed he should be glad that his mother never had had much success getting her friends to come to the café as well or he could probably just close shop in November and spend all December working on orders. Shaking his head to clear it, he told Logan, “Sleep some more. I wake you when lunch’s ready.”

”More soup?” Logan groaned.

”Get better than I cook whatever you want again,” Erik told him as he vanished into the kitchen. It wasn’t like he wasn’t sick of soup every day as well. But whatever else he cooked, Logan complained it hurt his throat. He picked up an apple, meaning to eat it while he was cooking. He was just about to take a bite, when he thought better of it. If Logan didn’t want soup then he could be helped there. Good thing he stocked the fruitbowl just the day before.

It took him about twenty minutes, which was fifteen more than he had planned to spend on cooking, but he managed to produce some decent apple and banana sauce. Technically it was still soup but it should please Logan.

He brought the patients a bowl each before he went and got his own, sitting down on the armchair to leave the couch to them. “How’re you feeling?” he asked after a while.

Charles looked blearily at him over the rim of his bowl. The second hand pain in Erik’s limbs and throat got worse for a moment. Charles looked as if he was very displeased over the fact that Erik was still up and healthy.

”Better'n yesterday,” Logan sniffled. “Should be fine next week.”

Erik nodded. “Did you go see a doctor?” he asked Charles. Charles shook his head. “Do you want me to go with you?” Charles nodded miserably. “Okay, then I’ll try and call to get an appointment sometime this afternoon.”

He finished eating, musing all the while how bad his chances were to get through the next few days without catching the flu as well. It was just about the worst time to get sick. He wouldn’t even get a temp on short notice as everyone was currently offering such positions. Before he left to get back to the café, he fixed a fresh pot of tea. He just barely resisted the urge to kiss Logan and Charles goodbye.

”If you get sick in the next six weeks, I’ll kill you,” Erik informed Alex when he entered the kitchen, earning himself a scandalized look from his former apprentice.

~*~

During a lull between afternoon patrons and people on their way home coming in for a quick coffee, Erik withdrew into his office to call his doctor. But then, he hesitated. As far as he knew, as competent as the doctor was, there weren’t many psionics under his patients, if any. It might not be the best idea to just bring Charles there. Instead, he dialed Emma’s number. She picked up immediately.

”Emma Frost,” she said, no greeting, no small talk.

”Are you busy?” Erik asked, glancing at the time. He hadn’t even noticed that it was close to five already.

”It’s so good you called, I was waiting to hear back from you,” she replied, clearly meaning the words to be heard by somebody else. Erik could hear her office door being closed. “What’s up?”

”Logan and Charles are both sick,” Erik sighed. He tried to remember why he’d thought it was a good idea to whine to Emma. Probably because there was nobody else he wanted to whine to.

Emma laughed into the receiver. "Süßer,” her voice turned thick as honey. “Your pet badger gets sick every year."

Erik ignored that comment. "Sick telepaths are the worst."

"Uh-hu,” was all the telepath on the other end of the line had to say to that accusation.

"Charles keeps projecting how bad he feels to me," Erik whined. “I don’t even want to go home. I’m between working all day and nursing two people with the flu at home. And one of those thinks it’s necessary that I feel his aches and headache and stuffy nose to do that.”

“Oh poor baby all healthy and still feeling sick." Emma sounded like she was enjoying his misery.

Erik sighed. "You're not going to be helpful, will you?"

"Nope."

He could hear her smirk. “Not even a little pity?”

”Nope,” she repeated. “You deserve it for getting sick so little yourself.”

Erik thought back at the one semester when everyone they knew got sick enough to swallow ridiculous amounts of medicine and stay in bed whenever they didn’t have classes. He hadn’t gotten sick and had refused to allow Emma to take more than the highest safe doses a day. She was right, he deserved this. At least a little. "Ok. Fine.” He sighed. “At least give me your doctor's number, then. I can’t just take Charles to someone who can’t handle telepaths.”

"I text you later. But you owe me for that."

Erik rolled his eyes. “I thought that would be a given.”

She laughed. “I already know what I want to use that for, then.”

”What would that be?” Emma already having plans for favors to call in was never a good sign.

”You’ll be coming over to my place with your boys for new year’s eve and let me borrow Charles as a date,” Emma said matter of factly. They both knew this wasn’t a suggestion. Erik would ask Charles about it. And try to convince Logan that it was for a good cause.

”Your dad?” Erik asked. She didn’t need to respond. “I’ll be there.”

”Good.” She paused for a moment. “I have to get back to work now. Talk to you again soon.”

She hung up without leaving Erik time to say goodbye. He put his phone down, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. Another hour of keeping the café open, then cleaning, calling Emma’s doctor for an appointment and then finally home to see how Charles and Logan were holding up before he would collapse into bed to get enough sleep before his alarm would inevitably wake him. Doable, he decided. He’d be so glad when December would be finally over.

~*~

They didn’t get an appointment until Friday morning. Charles was feeling even worse by then and had completely taken to share all of his sickness with Erik to keep himself from projecting to strangers. It was bad enough Erik suggested taking a cab to the doctor’s office instead of public transport. But Charles ensured him it wouldn’t make much of a difference for him. So Erik made sure Charles was bundled up in warm clothes, before they set off on the crisp but sunny morning.

The main reason they had decided not to come in Thursday was that apparently the doctor had special consultation hours for psionics twice a week, one of them Friday morning, the other Tuesday afternoon to evening. Erik had noted that down in his address book with the doctor’s number and address, just in case. Charles had been pleasantly surprised about that, immediately becoming far more willing to go get checked up.

As they entered the waiting room after Erik had handled the reception, he felt uneasy for a short moment, before he could sense Charles wrap his telepathy tighter around his mind. Erik squeezed Charles’ hand briefly. It was nice to know that even sick, Charles was feeling possessive of him when it came to other psionics.

They didn’t have to wait terribly long. There were just two more patients and an unhappy looking woman with a child waiting when they came in. All in all it was maybe half an hour they waited, most of which Charles spent dozing against Erik’s shoulder. Erik played around on his phone and leafed through one of the journals to pass time. Apparently things weren’t too busy at the café as Alex somehow found time to respond to all his messages. It was something of a relief that he wasn’t desperately needed there. It meant he could maybe take the rest of the day off if Alex didn’t mind closing up alone that evening. It didn’t sound like he would.

When they were eventually called in, Erik first made sure the doctor was okay with him being there. It didn’t seem to be a problem, mostly because Charles wanted him there. The appointment went as expected. The doctor asked Charles how he was feeling, before he took Charles’ temperature, looked at his throat and listened to his breathing. He then told Charles what he would prescribe and asked about known allergies just to make sure. Just when they were about done, the doctor leaned forward and looked closely at Charles. “I know while being sick it is sometimes very difficult to control your powers,” he said, very slowly. “If you don’t feel up to put that little bit of strength into keeping people’s thoughts out, I could also prescribe you psy-blocker. You don’t even have to take them and I won’t advise neither for nor against them, but I want to give you that option.”

Charles nodded. “What about side-effects?”

”As far as I know from other patients,” the doctor said. “Headaches, nausea, fatigue and a general need to sleep more. So nothing worse than the flu you already have. The one I’m going to prescribe you is one of the least addictive on the market but you should still not take them for longer than two weeks. If you feel like you’d need to take them longer, I want you to check back with me.”

Again, Charles nodded. “I think I’d like the prescription then. Not having to listen to everyone’s thoughts all the time would be nice.” He smiled at Erik. “And I don’t have to bother my friends all day anymore to stop it.”

Erik shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

”Yes you do,” Charles said. He tipped the side of his head. “You can’t hide it.”

The doctor nodded. “Well then.” He got up so Erik and Charles did the same. “You’ll get the prescription slip at the reception. If it doesn’t get better feel free to come in again. And get better soon.”

They dropped by the pharmacy on their way home. Getting the cold medicine was no problem and Erik had the presence of mind to get some for Logan as well, seeing as they had started to run out on cough medicine. The psi-blocker however weren’t in stock, meaning that Erik would have to come back in the afternoon. Charles had started to look even more out of it halfway home, so it was a priority to get him back. He could just come back to the pharmacy when he shopped for dinner, Erik decided.

Back home, Erik first put Charles back in bed. For that, he helped him out of his clothes and into fresh pajamas. He also helped Charles to settle down in bed with a freshly made hot water bottle. Charles was already almost asleep when Erik came back with the hot water bottle, so he just told him to call if he needed something and left the bedroom.

After that, he went to check on Logan dozing in front of the TV. He seemed a lot better than the previous days, which was a relief. Erik took his wallet, the slip from the pharmacy and his phone out of his pocket, before he sat down next to Logan so he could lean his head against his shoulder, meaning to close his eyes for just a few minutes.

It was dark when he woke up from the nap, but Logan had wrapped his arm around him and was holding him close, so Erik didn’t much mind. He cuddled up closer, glad that he was finally able to do so again. He had missed it the past few days.

”Alex called and reported business as usual and all safely closed up for the night,” Logan whispered into Erik’s ear.

Erik turned his head and blinked up at him. “I need to go to the pharmacy,” he murmured. “How long did I sleep?”

Logan kissed his forehead. “Already did that. You didn’t even stir when I left to get tea so I thought you needed the rest.”

Erik nodded sleepily, hugging Logan closer.

”Charles and I were hungry so I heated up some soup from the freezer,” Logan went on. “There’s still something left if you want some?”

Erik shook his head. “‘m good.” He stretched for his phone lying on the coffee table. It announced two missed calls from his mother and one from Alex. As he unlocked it, it showed Alex’ lengthy text telling him that nothing unusual had happened and that he would take up the duty to drop the collected donations from the store off at the collection point so Erik didn’t have to. It ended with well wishes to Logan. For a moment, Erik thought about calling his mother to hear what she’d wanted but then decided against it. It was probably just her weekly call to find out how they were doing. He put his phone down and rested his head back against Logan’s shoulder. Logan was smelling a little sweaty but Erik didn’t mind. He put an arm over Logan’s hip, making himself comfortable to stay like this a little longer. “Is Charles asleep again?” he asked, realizing that he felt alone in his mind. He had forgotten that Charles had wanted to at least try the psi-blockers.

”I think so.” Logan had started scratching the nape of Erik’s head. Erik sighed. “I got it. You don’t have to stress yourself this much anymore, alright?”


	2. Week Two (29.11.-4.12.)

By Saturday noon, Logan was well enough again to threaten Erik via messages to lay off and stop running himself into the ground. He had stressed himself a lot over the past few days and Logan had officially decided that it was enough now. According to him, Erik should go concentrate on his currently very stressful work instead of stressing himself over having two sick boyfriends at home as well. That, too, was a yearly occurrence in Erik’s life, the first sign that Logan was well again after his flu. He still fought it every year, though. It wasn’t his fault, he just was the kind to worry about the people close to him.

They sat up longer than Erik had managed to keep his eyes open Sunday evening. Charles was sleeping most of the day and Logan had reported that he’d been taking the psi-blockers regularly since Friday. It was weird for both of them to not have Charles’ telepathy curled up in the back of their minds at all time, but they had both to admit that Charles probably knew best when he did and did not want his telepathy to work.

” _Are you going back to work tomorrow?_ ” Erik asked. They weren’t even halfway through the movie Logan had put on, but he was dead tired already. He could just fall asleep right there with his feet in Logan’s lap if only Logan would let him.

”Hm-m,” Logan nodded. “ _Gotta get back to the kiddos, they miss me for sure. Charles’s asleep all day anyway and I’m back in the afternoon, too._ ” He squeezed Erik’s thigh. “ _Don’t you dare falling asleep on me._ ”

” _But it’s nice here,_ ” Erik murmured.

” _Edie called while you were still at the café,_ ” Logan went on. Erik opened an eye. “ _She said if you don’t call her back by tomorrow at six, she’ll find you and pull your ears._ ”

Erik let out a deep, heartfelt groan. “ _She knows exactly how busy I am and she still demands my usual attention._ ”

Logan leaned over to kiss Erik’s face, but he could only reach his stomach without Erik’s cooperation, so Logan opted to pull up Erik’s shirt and kissed him on his flat stomach. “Indulge her. Any plans for Hanukkah yet?”

Erik’s breath hitched as Logan continued to lazily kiss him. One of his hands found its way into Logan’s hair, keeping him in place. “I bet that’s why she called. Just to make sure I don’t pretend I have forgotten about it. I don’t wanna go. The food’s gonna kill me.”

”My poor baby,” Logan laughed. His stubble was scratching over Erik’s belly. “I’ll get you something against acid reflux.”

”Thanks,” Erik sighed. He had started to stroke the nape of Logan’s neck and his shoulders. “I really wish I knew why the food there always has to be drowned in oil.”

Logan just hummed in response, his lips vibrating against Erik’s stomach. He was pushing Erik’s shirt further up, with obvious intention.

”Aren’t you a bit too sick for that?” Erik laughed. It was getting harder to get enough air in his lungs with each breath.

”Aren’t you a bit too tired to let me?” Logan smirked. When Erik didn’t protest, he took it as his cue to settle between Erik’s legs, watching as the button and zipper undid themselves.

”At your own responsibility,” Erik panted. He wriggled out of his jeans and shorts as well as he could.

”I’m getting my _man_ off when and how I want,” Logan laughed and even when Erik was kicking him still didn’t stop. “I won’t blow you with my sore throat and stuffy nose if that’s what you’re worried about.”

”Great, so you’ll just smear all your bacteria-aah,” Erik’s complaint tapered off into a moan at the end, mostly because Logan had starter to slick him up by licking over the full length of his half-hard prick.

Erik bucked up, biting his fist to try and keep his voice down. Charles was sleeping, they shouldn’t wake him. But Erik hadn’t even realized how long it’d been since the last time they’d done this before Logan had started kissing his belly all of a sudden. He needed this, badly. Both the sex and just having Logan for himself for a few moments.

Soon, Logan switched course, satisfied with how wet he’d gotten Erik. He spat into his hand, making sure he wasn’t getting all the moist off with the first stroke. He knew fully well how sensitive Erik was to dry skin dragging over his prick.

Erik just leaned back and let it happen. He was tired after all, tired enough even to not bother stopping his hips from bucking. After a while he had to dig his fingers and toes into the couch, his muscles tensing up with his building orgasm. He had long since given up on keeping the noise down. Logan on the other hand apparently hadn’t as he leaned up to kiss Erik after a particularly loud moan.

Erik lost himself in the kiss, too overwhelmed to concentrate on both Logan’s hand and tongue. Logan kept rubbing him, twisting his wrist at the end of each stroke just the way he knew Erik loved it, while Erik bit and sucked at his lips as for his dear life. Holding onto the couch wasn’t enough anymore, so Erik sunk his powers into Logan’s skeleton as well, feeling him out without interfering with what Logan was doing.

Eventually, Logan had pull back. Erik could feel the strain on his wrist, so even though he missed Logan’s lips as soon as they weren’t touching him anymore, he let him sit back up. It took him a moment to relax into that gearshift. But after that, it took Logan less than a minute to finally get him off.

Erik came with a low sigh, his eyes slipping closed before his prick had even stopped twitching in Logan’s hand. He swallowed a few times, desperately trying to get enough air down his dry throat. He heard Logan laugh and felt him move before he pressed a kiss to his forehead. Erik just let it happen, too exhausted to react.

”You can let go of me now,” Logan whispered. Erik hadn’t even noticed his powers were still sunk deeply into Logan’s bones. Gingerly, he withdrew. Logan stroked through his hair once. “Do you want me to carry you over to bed?”

Erik shook his head. “I can walk on my own, just gimme a minute,” he murmured.

Logan looked over at the TV. “I’ll wake you when the movie’s over.”

Erik nodded, slipping out of his shirt and jeans and pulled up his shorts, before he made himself comfortable across Logan. A few minutes later, he was dozing comfortably to the background noise of the TV.

When they went to bed half an hour later, Charles stirred, briefly opening his eyes and rolling over to cuddle up against Erik. He was still a little warm, but no fever, it seemed like. “Did you have sex without me?” Charles murmured. “I heard you moan.”

Erik put an arm around Charles. “Do you mind?”

”No.” Charles shook his head. “I’m not up for it anyway. Did it feel good?” When Erik nodded, he sighed, “That’s good.” A few moments later, he was asleep again.

~*~

The next morning, Erik was in his office, having left the kitchen and counter to Alex. It was hailing outside and it was past the time when people came in for breakfast so there were almost no patrons anyway. Alex should be fine on his own for the few minutes it would take Erik to call his mother. At least he hoped it would only be a few minutes. There were high chances she wouldn’t get him off quickly, just out of what Erik called spite for not being available that weekend.

She also took her sweet time to answer the phone, probably because she recognized the number of the café’s landline. “ _Lehnsherr, guten Tag,_ ” came her voice finally from the receiver. He could tell she was mad at him.

” _Hallo, Mama,_ ” Erik sighed.

” _Rufst du auch endlich mal an?_ ” She didn’t sound angry, which was probably the worst. Erik prefered if she got angry at him. This, he knew, meant she was seriously mad at him. It were these moments that made him consider telling her that he’d married Logan and kept it from her for years, in the hopes she would be so mad at him she’d stop talking to him altogether. But he also knew fully well that he loved, respected and needed her enough not to risk that.

While he was lost in thought, she had rambled on, pitying herself over having a son that didn’t even care enough to call her once a week. “... _Du rufst nur an wenn du Geld brauchst,_ ” she finished her tirade. Considering that he never called out of his own volition and had never asked her for money, Erik had to admit she was right, if in a twisted, so wrong she was right kind of way.

Erik tried to say something, anything to defend himself. Logan had been sick, Charles was still sick, he was busy at the café, he’d only been home to eat and sleep… Years of her not accepting such reasons made them sound like excuses to his own ears. So instead he forced himself to sound as contrite as possible when he said, “ _Es tut mir Leid, Mama._ ”

” _I will die alone in my bed with not even my only son around to hand me a glass of water,_ ” she lamented. “ _So, what’s been so important you didn’t even call? You called me in July when everyone came for ice cream and you called the week before Valentine's Day too so what’s so important now that you forgot all about me?_ ”

Erik took a deep breath. “ _Logan was sick all week. Charles is sick now too. It’s been a bit, uhm, chaotic last week,_ ” he explained. “ _I’m alright and healthy, though,_ ” he added weakly, knowing that his health wasn’t as interesting as her favourite not-quite-yet-son-in-law-but-close being sick.

He was right. “ _Oh poor Charles! Is it something serious? You take good care of him, you hear me?_ ” she said, sounding stern.

So Erik explained to her how he was and how he’d even gone to the doctors with Charles last week, not leaving out any detail. She still asked him questions, wanting to know what medicaments he’d been given and then telling Erik to next time buy a different brand because she liked that one better herself. She also told him to cook lots of chicken broth and leave it in the kitchen so Charles could reheat it himself if he wanted to as if Erik wasn’t doing that already and keeping small portions of cut, fresh fruit in the freezer as well. All in all, that went on for more than twenty minutes. More than once, Erik looked at his watch, getting more and more annoyed each time.

” _So you know next week is Hanukkah_ ,” she finally got to the point why she had wanted him to call her back so bad. In his mind, Erik let out a heartfelt sigh. “ _The Synagogue is inviting parishioners and friends to go watch the lighting of the first candle at the big menorah in front of the Brandenburger Tor. Before we go back and have our own celebration in private back at our Synagogue._ ”

” _Logan and I’ll be there,_ ” Erik said quickly, all of a sudden feeling thankful for how willingly his husband always was accompanying him to these kinds of public jewish events. “ _I’ll ask Charles, too. I’m sure he won’t say no._ ” He took a breath. “ _I’ll come to the Synagogue with you after, too._ ” As if there was any choice. Even if he didn’t want to, she would force him.

” _Gut,_ ” she sounded very pleased. “ _Sunday, at three. Don’t be late._ ” With that, she hung up. Erik put the phone down and groaned, long and heartfelt. He was just in the mood to inflict his misery on Alex, too, so he stayed back in his office for another few minutes before he reemerged. He should be grateful he had some somebody who would work on Sundays and took good care of the café for him.

That reminder didn’t do much for his mood but it helped him to just ruin Alex’ so called hairstyle with a ruffle instead of actually being mean to him.

~*~

Later that week, Charles started to feel a little better, or at least well enough to spend the time when Logan and Erik were home physically close to them. He followed whoever was the first home around wrapped in a blanket and wearing the thick socks Erik had all but forced onto him. Logan teased him a little, claiming that he looked adorable but also somewhat silly following them around like a duckling but he never complained. They all knew that it was just Charles’ way of coping with the psi-blocker he still took, replacing the lack of mental closeness with a physical one.

Erik had to admit he could get used to this kind of behavior, of Charles pressing his body close to his back while he was watching their food cook or of him slotting himself under Erik’s arm and against his side on the couch. It was nice, even though he could feel Charles dozing off in such positions. Erik then used the opportunity to scratch Charles’ head and generally treat him like an oversized cat.

It took Erik until Friday evening before he could muster the courage to ask Charles about joining them for the public celebration. He knew Logan would come, asked to or not, that Logan would also walk him to the Synagogue unprompted if it was just Erik alone or with his mother. He had done so countless times. Charles’ reaction on the other hand was unknown territory and for the first time in months this uncertainty kept Erik from bringing up an important issue right away. Charles not being able to tell what was so heavy on his mind just made it worse.

”My mom asked me if we want to join her this Sunday,” Erik said carefully on Friday evening, just after dinner.

Charles looked up at him from where he’d halfway crawled into Erik’s lap. “For lunch?”

”Hanukkah?” Logan guessed.

Erik nodded. “Apparently they put a giant menorah up in front of the Brandenburger Tor,” he explained, his heart beat high and fast against his chest. It’d been a long while since he’d been so nervous about the reaction of another person. Charles knew he was jewish but that didn’t mean the topic came up often. “And my mom asked if you wanted to come as well. It’ll be just some music and one or two rabbis holding short speeches. You don’t have to but I thought it’d be nice if you’re up to it and want to I mean.”

Charles put a soothing hand on Erik’s chest, right above his heart. “Of course I’ll come along,” he said. He looked over at Logan, probably wondering why he hadn’t been asked. “Do you come, too?”

Logan huffed a little. “Sure I’ll come. That was never a question.” He and Erik exchanged a meaningful look. “Would never let Erik go on his own.”

”My mom will love you coming along,” Erik tried to steer the conversation in more pleasant directions again.

It didn’t work. “Are you afraid because of the terror attacks lately?” Charles marveled.

Erik pulled a face but still nodded. “Something like that.” He didn’t feel like explaining. It had been hard enough to ask Charles to come along. He didn’t want to explain why it didn’t let you grow up to be comfortable with public religious events when your parents had always been a little nervous about their weekly visit at their own Synagogue. It sure had led to Erik never feeling a hundred percent safe, despite rationally knowing that he was probably alright with his powers and Logan by his side. Explaining it while Charles lacked one of his most important senses only made it harder.

Charles hugged him briefly. “We’ll be there to watch out for you.”

In return, Erik squeezed his shoulder. “I know.” For some strange reason, this actually made him feel a little better.


	3. December 6th, 2015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Erik is what my beta for this stuff calls a "cultural jew" which means he's really not very religious, sometimes on purpose.
>   * If you wanna see what the menorah looked like here's a [link](http://m.morgenpost.de/berlin/article206759435/Erste-Kerze-am-Chanukka-Leuchter-in-Berlin-entzuendet.html) to one of the local newspaper articles about it.
>   * Surrogate mothers are not a legal option.
> 


Erik woke up around eight on Sunday, when Logan stole out of the bed. He resisted the urge keep him in bed for a little while longer. It’d been awhile since he’d had the opportunity to sleep in and that he now had to let Logan leave before they’d even had the time to cuddle wasn’t exactly how he’d imagined it. Erik made a displeased sound and turned around to cuddle with Charles instead. Despite his still sleep drugged mind, Erik noticed that Charles’ fever was finally gone. He pressed closer.

”I’ll be done in an hour at the kindergarten, two at max,” Logan murmured, one knee on the bed and the other foot on the floor so he could whisper in Erik’s ear. “Hope I’ll be back by twelve at the latest. Don’t leave without me.”

Erik made a shooing gesture, in the hopes he’d make Logan understand that he didn’t care much if only he could sleep a little more. The creaking floorboard by the door made a sound, then Logan closed the bedroom door again. Erik pulled Charles a little closer.

It was close to ten when Charles eventually stirred. His eyes opened very slowly, blinked a few times before they finally focused on Erik. Charles raised a hand to pat Erik’s head a little. “Morning,” he murmured. He didn’t sound like he was fully there.

”Morning,” Erik smiled at him. “How’re you feeling? Ready to stand around outside for an hour or two?”

Charles nodded slowly. “Feel better,” he murmured. He rolled to his side so he could cuddle up against Erik’s chest. “Are you still nervous?”

Erik was sure his heart was beating faster just thinking about this afternoon but he still shook his head. “Not particularly.”

Charles was silent for a while, then eventually raised his head. “Where’s Logan?”

”Had to go to the kindergarten,” Erik murmured. “Every year, they tell the parents to hand in one of the kid’s boots and then they fill it with nuts, cookies, tangerines and so on so the children can take the full boot home on December 6th, Nikolaus.”

”Sounds like something to look forward to.” Charles yawned. “There’s no chance I’ll find a tangerine in my boot, is there?”

Erik chuckled. “Aren’t you a bit old to be visited by the Nikolaus?” he teased. “And a bit too naughty to get any sweets, too. I bet all you’d get is coal.” Charles hit him with a pillow which only made Erik laugh some more. “I can check if we still have tangerines in the kitchen.” He leaned down to kiss Charles’ forehead.

”Please,” Charles nodded. He wrapped his arms around Erik. “Or you could wait a couple more minutes and I’ll come with you.” He kissed Erik’s cheek. “We could eat breakfast together.”

Erik shot him a sceptical look. “Do you feel fit enough for that again?”

”I can handle going out why shouldn’t I be able to handle breakfast,” Charles huffed. “Actually, I even feel good enough to stop taking the psi-blockers. It’s been long enough anyway and they’re giving me a headache that’s worse than keeping my shields up.”

Erik pulled a face. “I liked it better when you let me treat you like a raw egg.”

Charles hid his face against Erik’s chest to stifle his laughter. “Of course you did.”

It took them another twenty or so minutes to peel themselves out from under the covers. Charles went to take a shower, while Erik got everything ready for breakfast. He briefly wondered if they should wait for Logan, but when he asked he just got a message back that told him to go ahead and eat without him.

So when Charles came into the kitchen, Erik was just loading two plates with scrambled eggs and bacon. Toast was done half a minute later, so they could sit down and eat right away. Charles eyed the bacon with a mix of wonder and distrust.

He was just in the process of forking egg on a slice of toast when he couldn’t keep from asking about it anymore. “Ok, so, what’s the deal with the bacon for breakfast? Is it kosher?” he asked.

Erik grinned at him with all his teeth. He was so glad Charles asked. “Nope,” he said gleefully.

For a moment, Charles was silent. He had obviously expected Erik to elaborate and had bitten off his toast so he had to chew and swallow before he could ask some more. “Any reason at all?”

Erik smirked. “Gotta counteract going to the Synagogue tonight,” he said, taking a pleased bite of the bacon. “Can’t be too good, you know?”

Charles shook his head. “You’re unbelievable.”

”Don’t be like that,” Erik grinned. “You like me that way.”

”I’m telling Edie,” Charles threatened halfheartedly. Under the table, he tried to capture one of Erik’s feet with his own.

Erik laughed out loud this time. “And just what is she going to do? Drag me to the Synagogue and make me talk to the Rabbi? Oh wait…” He smirked again.

”Incorregible.” Charles shook his head. Between two bites, he added, “At least your blasphemous food is really, really good.”

”That’s not the only thing I’m good at, according to you,” Erik purred. He leaned across the table to steal a kiss.

~*~

By the time Logan returned home, Erik had showered and was searching for a suitable shirt and his hat. He was already wearing his slacks, but nothing else. Charles was staying out of his way. They’d been living together long enough that Charles knew he should let Erik be and make very little noise when he was nervous about seeing his mother. So Logan had to go past him reading in the living room when he came home.

Logan was halfway to the bedroom, when he stopped, looked at Charles and asked, “Has he started cursing yet?”

Charles shook his head. “Not yet. I think he’s still panicking over what shirt to wear. I was tempted to go ask him if he needed help. But then I thought I should wait until he’s narrowed the choice a little.”

”Clever boy.” Logan grinned. He trotted back to the coatrack and took the hat gathering dust on top of it. From his satchel, he took an almost empty bag of peanuts and two tangerines which he then used to fill one of Charles’ and one of Erik’s boots with. All while Charles was watching him.

”Erik said all I’d get would be a lump of coal,” Charles laughed.

”Yeah, no, we had none of those left this year,” Logan grinned. He toyed with the hat on his head. “How do I look?”

”Ridiculous.” Charles shook his head. “Make that a cowboy hat and we can talk.”

”Good to know,” Logan laughed. He strolled over to the bedroom. “I’ll try do some disaster prevention now, wish me luck.” He winked, then vanished into the bedroom.

”You should wear that light blue one, matches the trousers and tricks people into thinking your eyes are blue instead of lacking any color,” Logan announced. His very much unwanted help got Erik to throw said light blue shirt at his face. Logan caught it and dusted it off. “If you don’t want Edie to think you can’t dress yourself you should put on a t-shirt under it.”

”I know,” Erik hissed. “But I can’t pick one before I picked a shirt, can I now.” He pulled a t-shirt from his part of the dresser and put it on. “There, happy now?” He held out his hand for the shirt.

Logan shrugged after he’d handed the shirt back. “Not much. I like to see you shirtless.

”Haha,” Erik said. He turned around to Logan, still fiddling with his shirt. “Passable?”

”More than.” Logan kissed Erik. “Not even Edie can say anything against the way you look.” He tipped his hat. “Where’s…?”

Erik rolled his eyes. He reached into the dresser where he’d clipped his kippa to the revers his best suit. “Here.” He handed it over to Logan.

Logan brushed a lint off the velvet while he waited for Erik to turn around and relax enough so he’d stand still. Years ago, they’d found out Edie was far less likely to force Erik to endure her fixing the kippa if Logan clipped it in. Apparently, it was easier to put it in just the right place if it was the back of somebody else’s head. Or Erik was just never able to put it in the right spot or secure it properly with the clip. Logan didn’t mind. He enjoyed those moments of intimacy.

”There, all good,” he said, brushing one last time over Erik’s shoulders. “I can’t see a reason to complain.” His arms sneaked around Erik’s hips and held him close. “I love you,” he hummed.

Erik patted his hands. “I love you, too.” He sighed, trying to relax into the embrace. “I’m so glad you two are coming with me.”

”Still nervous?” When Erik nodded, Logan pulled back, just far enough so he could take the hat off and put it on Erik’s head, hiding the kippa without disturbing it. “We’ll be there all the time. I can even come pick you up later.” He kissed the side of Erik’s neck.

”You don’t have to,” Erik sighed. “I can go home on my own. I do it every day.” Still, his heart was beating a little faster than usual. His entire body was stiff just thinking about leaving the Synagogue on his own. “It’s too much trouble to pick me up.”

Logan squeezed tight one last time before he let go. “Don’t hesitate to call.”

Erik nodded. “Thank you.”

”Do you think I should change jeans before we leave?” Logan asked, switching the topic. Erik looked down the washed out, worn jeans Logan was wearing. He wouldn’t say anything against the ratty old pullover Logan was wearing as it would be hidden under his coat, but the jeans…

Erik nodded emphatically. “Change.”

”Your mother seems to be under the impression I’m a handyman anyway,” Logan complained but he still stripped out of his comfortable old jeans. “Why not dress the part for her?”

”Because there’s always a chance parents of your kindergarteners see you,” Erik reminded him. “And my mother will complain all day about you.”

Logan flashed him a grin. “Isn’t that the whole point of it?” He held up a dark blue jeans for Erik’s approval. Erik nodded so Logan put it on.

”It would be if she wouldn’t make it sound like it was somehow my fault,” Erik sighed.

Logan shrugged. “I’ve been saying this forever, you should try not to let her get to you so much.” Dressed again, he stepped up to Erik and punched him in the arm. “Ready to be teased for your hat?”

Charles didn’t tease him for the hat, but he looked like he really wanted to ask about it, so Erik said, “Don’t like going out when everyone can see my kippa.”

Charles frowned, a slice of tangerine halfway to his mouth. “Why? Is it dangerous?”

”I can throw light posts at people,” Erik reminded him. He flopped down on the couch next to Charles and stole the second half of the tangerine Charles was eating. “I just don’t like wearing it outside for everyone to see.”

Charles nodded, lost in thought as if he needed a little time to wrap his mind around the new information. Erik sighed. “It’s just a cultural thing,” he said by means of explanation. “My mother never liked to be identifiable as Jewish so I don’t either.” He shrugged. “Or something like that.”

”I see,” Charles murmured. He stole another tangerine slice back from Erik. “When do we have to leave?”

”In about an hour.” Erik leaned against Charles shoulder. “Thank you for coming along.”

~*~

They’d agreed to meet up with Edie a little ways off so they could go to the site of the celebration together. Erik had almost forced Charles to bundle up in his thickest coat with a warm scarf and gloves and even a woolen hat Logan had dug out from some drawer or other. So of course, Edie immediately started to fuss over Charles and asked him how he was feeling and how he’d been this past week while they walked. Logan lagged a bit behind, casually putting his arm around Erik’s shoulder and holding him close, despite Erik’s weak initial protests.

The menorah could be seen for a while before they even reached the square where it had been set up. There were rows of chairs put up in front of it with a fence around them, probably to keep those seated save in case something happened. Their little group stayed in the crowd outside the fence. Edie kept pointing people she knew out to Charles and called some of her friends and acquaintances over to introduce Charles and make Erik say hi. Logan hung back, his hand long dropped from Erik’s shoulder. Erik could tell he was left out of all the fuss, but there was also something very wary in the way Logan observed their surroundings. Erik just wished he knew how to tell Logan right then and there how much he appreciated it.

The event itself was, for all Erik could tell by those public events like this one he’d seen before, nothing special. There were a bunch of kids singing songs on the stage together, some Rabbi held a speech, jelly donuts were handed out to those seated within the fence and eventually, a hydraulic lift took another Rabbi up so he could light the first candle. By the time it was over and the crowd started to disperse, Erik was busy telepathically fighting with Charles because he was worried it had been a little too much for his boyfriend to stand around in the cold for so long.

Charles eventually gave up arguing and ended it diplomatically, by nudging Logan and asking him if they should go home now and have some tea, please, his throat hurt a little. Of course, no matter how sneaky he had tried to be with it, Edie still noticed. She immediately went to fuss over Charles, almost shoving him into Logan’s arm. It was obvious that she was torn between joy for having Charles come along and worry that he’d done something to make his flu worse again.

” _Don’t worry Mrs Lehnsherr,_ ” Logan assured her. “ _I’ll get him home immediately and have him drink much tea with honey until he falls asleep._ ”

” _Just take care of yourselves on your way home. I don’t wanna hear you got sick again over this. You should wear thicker jackets too, Logan._ ” Edie started to fumble around with Logan’s jacket. “ _Do you even own a coat? No wonder you get sick every winter._ ”

”Just get home safely.” Erik kissed Logan’s cold cheek, then bent down a little so he could kiss Charles as well. “See you two later at home.” He offered his arm to his mother. “ _Shouldn’t we get going now? We don’t wanna be late._ ”

~*~

Erik wasn’t exactly sure how he’d made it through the sheer endless greetings from old women and his mother pointing out more people than he cared to remember, nor how he didn’t fall asleep during the sermon at their own Synagogue after. It was almost a relief when they finally got to sit down and eat. Chairs had been set up in circles that would grow and shrink all evening when people decided they wanted to talk to this friend or that. Erik did his best to end up as far away from his mother as possible. It had only been a few hours in her presence but he was already considering self harm just to get out from under her scrunty.

Luckily for him, he was immediately called over to a small group of maybe five people around his own age. He didn’t even have to make up excuses to go over to them. He genuinely liked Gabrielle and was forever thankful for her decision a few years ago to trade Tel Aviv’s heat for cheap Berlinian pudding.

”You’re a lifesaver,” Erik sighed as he dropped down next to Gabi.

She smiled at him. “Don’t worry, we all know.” She winked. “Your mother greeted me by asking if I had a husband yet.”

They looked at each other, fighting the losing battle against rolling their eyes at eachother. It ended with both of them laughing. “So, Edie said your new boyfriend is a professor? Do I know him?” Gabi smirked.

Erik shrugged. “Probably.” She put a hand on his knee, causing Erik to raise an eyebrow. “What?”

”How did your breakup go? Do you wanna talk about it?” Gabi asked.

Erik smiled. “What breakup?”

Gabi blinked at him. “Don’t tell me you’re dating the professor behind Logan’s back.”

”Logan and I,” Erik smirked. “Are in a very healthy relationship with said professor.”

Gabi looked at him, her mouth hanging open a little. “Oh,” she said. “Oh. Ok. Wow.”

Since her hand was still on his knee, Erik thought it was time to pat her. “I’m still not sure why we thought it was a good idea,” he sighed. He couldn’t help the smile creeping onto his face. “But I’m glad we did.”

Gabi shook her head. “Ok,” she laughed. “And your professor? What’s he like?”

”Cute,” Erik smirked. “Hides that he can keep up with us when it comes to being an asshole under overall fluffy pleasantness. Small. Incredible blue eyes.”

Gabi shook her head. “So you’re not telling me more about him?”

Grinning, Erik shook his head. “Not a chance. But I bet you know him. He’s a professor of genetics.”

He could see her mental gears turn as she worked it out. “Is he American?” When Erik nodded, she laughed. “Professor Xavier? Oh, Erik, he’s nothing like Logan. Is that why you like him?”

Erik laughed. “You just say that cause you never found them sleeping on the couch. They’re exactly the same.”

Gabi smiled back at him. “So, does that mean I’ll see you at the Winter Party of the Bio department?”

Erik shrugged. “Dunno. Charles hasn’t asked yet. But if he does, probably yes.”

All of a sudden, Gabi stared at a spot behind Erik. “Edie on twelve o’clock,” she mouthed, just in time so Erik could brace himself for the impact. It was just, all the preparing in the world wasn’t able to soften the blow of what Edie said next.

” _Oh Erik, there you are,_ ” she said, hugging Gabrielle in greeting without stopping in what she so desperately wanted to tell Erik. “ _I just talked to Jenya, you do remember her, right, Erik? You went on a date with her, but you didn’t like it, just like always. Anyway, she’s now married and expects her second child. Her second child. And you don’t even have one yet. I sometimes think you want me to never have a grandchild. You probably even hate children._ ”

” _I like children,_ ” Erik said through gritted teeth. He knew what was about to come. All he had learned to do in such moments was to anchor himself with his powers in all metal in the vicinity and wait for the storm to blow over.

” _If you really liked them then why don’t I have a grandchild to dote on?_ ” Edie stemmed her hands in her hips.

” _Me and what woman?_ ” Erik sighed. “ _You act like I just refuse to let me knock up._ ”

For a moment, Edie was so scandalized she didn’t know what to say. When she finally knew what to say again, the first words from her mouth were, “ _I meant you could at least try to adopt!_ ”

When Erik looked down, he noticed he had turned his fork into a shapeless lump. He was shaking. “ _We could try to adopt?_ ” he repeated. His voice was toneless. “ _Oh, yes, great idea. Really. Let’s try to adopt and if we don’t get refused for being too old or because we’re not considered able to raise a child as a single parent even though we would be together in raising the child, we’ll be stuck in a legal limbo for years always afraid something could happen before the other could get the second, successive adoption done. But what about adopting a foreign child, you wanna ask? Guess what, the chances of being stuck with a child that just doesn’t get a German passport and thus can’t enter this country because it’s not considered legally ours by this country is too high for us to risk it. You could just for once ask me before you reproach me._ ”

Erik couldn’t remember when he’d gotten to his feet. He also wasn’t sure how he had ended up glaring down at his mom, with Gabrielle’s hand on his arm as if she was afraid he could hit his mother. He was panting.

”Erik…”

” _I’m leaving,_ ” Erik huffed. He freed himself from Gabi’s grip and pushed through the crowd before anyone could stop him.

~*~

In the end, it took Erik three hours longer than it should have to get home. He couldn’t remember much about how he had finally found his way back there, but he was almost certain he’d heard Charles’ voice guiding him. Logan was waiting for him with a cup of cocoa and no questions at all.

For a long while, Erik just hugged him in silence.

”I really would have liked to have kids,” Erik muttered eventually. “I like them.”

Logan stroked his shoulder, not at all awkward anymore like he had been the first time they had gone and searched for how their chances were on actually having children. He’d taken Erik’s hat and kippa off a while ago so he could pet his head. “You’re still coming to the kindergarten next week, right?”

Erik nodded.

Charles let them be for another while, before he padded into the kitchen. “Wanna come to bed?” he asked.


	4. Week 4 (7.-10.12.)

Erik was hiding in his café for the next two days. He felt like it was easier to see Alex all day than face Logan and Charles for even an hour when he was always in danger of having to talk about what had happened with Edie which more likely than not would end in both him and Logan going over their options **again** just to end up where they’d started. This had happened before. And whenever it came up again Erik felt more doomed about the whole ordeal before he’d even started.

So Alex’ sole company it was. Sometimes one of the helps would come into the kitchen to fetch an order but they’d learned to stay out of Erik’s way when he was in a mood like this. Alex bore his fate with next to no complains, probably because he knew exactly that all else would mean more trouble than it was worth.

At home, Erik was hiding in the kitchen as well. Logan knew him well enough to leave him be and get over it alone. Charles shot him a lot of very worried looks but he too was wise enough not to talk to Erik about it. In return, Erik looked the other way when Charles came home late Tuesday night, carrying a food container that Erik immediately recognized as his mother’s. He just went straight to bed so Logan and Charles could eat in peace.

Wednesday was a little better. Erik took the afternoon off to prepare what he needed for his annual cookie baking visit at the kindergarten. It had started out of desperation a few years back when out of the five teachers there three had been sick and Logan hadn’t been able to come up with any other plan than to ask Erik to let small groups of little children smash cookie cutters into the dough he had prepared all night. They had gotten into some kind of routine over the years so it wasn’t as stressful on the day before but watching a handful of children was always the same.

First, Erik searched for the list of all the parent’s permissions and children’s allergies so he could go shopping. By the time he came back, Charles was home. “What’s all that?” he asked, pointing at the bags of grocery.

”Annual christmas cookies baking at the kindergarten,” Erik answered on his way to vanish in the kitchen. This time though, Charles followed him. Erik sighed. “Need to make the dough today.”

”Can I help?” Erik looked Charles over. He felt a little bad for how he had behaved since the fight with his mother, but not enough yet to put up with Charles being in his way when he was just trying to complete a dull, simple task.

He pointed over to the table. “You can keep me company.”

Charles put on a sulky face but he pulled out a chair and sat down so he could watch Erik. “Anything else?”

Erik shook his head. He was unloading the contents of his shopping bags on the counter. There were some packets of flour, sugar and butter, and some milk. He’d also gotten a fresh jar of honey and organic cocoa powder, so all he had to take from the storage cupboard was powdered cinnamon. “You can help me clean the bowls after and cut some plastic wrap later. And try the dough if you really have to,” Erik sighed. “I especially make them without any raw egg for exactly that reason.”

Charles shrugged. “I can sit and watch for now. Is it much you have to do?”

”Not really, no.” Erik shook his head. “Cookie dough is really simple. You just mix some ingredients into a smooth dough.” He got out a medium sized pot and dumped the unwrapped bars of butter inside. The paper he threw away. Before he turned on the heat, he also added milk, sugar and honey. Erik looked around. “Hey…” he said. “You could watch this for me and give it a stir now and then while I mix the rest of the ingredients.”

Charles jumped to his feet, all too happy to help even though it was just a fairly boring task. “Are these going to be like the honey cookies you sell at the café?”

Erik made a vague gesture. “Almost. But not quite. I need to make an egg-free variant so the kids can eat some of the dough. It usually works to tell them that they always have to ask if they can try dough.” Erik smiled. “And these are really quick to make and bake.”

”You put a lot of thought into this.” Charles gave one large chunk of butter a jab with his wooden spoon.

Erik laughed. “I’ve been doing this once or sometimes even twice a year for almost ten years. I just have a lot of routine.”

”You’re doing this for fun so you don’t have to torture Alex for a while,” Charles guessed, mock shocked.

Erik was sifting flour into a large bowl. “I do this because I like to help Logan out. And because Alex deserves a day alone at a café every once in awhile.”

”Stop pretending you’re nice.”

After that, they were silent for a bit while Erik sifted and Charles watched the butter melt. They only exchanged a few words when Charles asked if he should turn the stove off as some steam started to rise from the pot. After that, there wasn’t much more Charles could do to help. Erik finished with the dry ingredients and then added the warm mix from the pot. With wet hands, Erik mixed the dough while Charles watched him. He usually didn’t notice it often, but Erik definitely had muscles from regular manual labor not just from training.

”Do you wanna talk about what happened?” Charles asked, very carefully. The question still came as somewhat of a surprise to Erik. He froze for a second, before he went on kneading.

”Not really.” He sighed. “She said something thoughtless, I snapped and overreacted. That’s it.”

”If that were true, you wouldn’t hurt so much over it.” Erik couldn’t see it with his back turned but he pressed his lips together anyway. “And I think you know that.”

Erik remained silent for a bit while he took the dough from the bowl and slapped it on the counter. When he finally spoke again, he sounded resigned “If I tell you I don’t want to, will you leave me be?”

Charles sighed. “Logan tells me to. Even…” He bit his lip. “I want to understand why you snapped at her. But if you don’t want to tell me yet…”

Erik finished the kneading and took out a large knife so he could cut it into smaller chunks. “I could use the plastic wrap now,” he said. He still didn’t turn to look at Charles.

Charles handed him piece by piece, cutting the foil while Erik wrapped the dough and put it in the freezer. When they were done and all of the honey-cocoa dough was cooling, Erik started cleaning before he would get on with the other dough. Charles helped by washing out the pot and bowl.

”There was only one thing my mother and I agreed on when it came to my life’s plan,” Erik said, very quietly and out of the blue. “I wanted kids. She wanted me to have kids. But turns out that now that I’m an adult I don’t think it’s sensible for me to try.” He took a deep breath. “She just never wanted to see the struggle. The less than mediocre chances of making something happen. She…” Erik shrugged. “It feels like she doesn’t care enough to even know the basics, like how we can’t legally adopt together, under no possible circumstances. It’s in the news often enough if only she cared.”

Charles put a hand on his arm, even though Erik knew exactly that he wanted to hug him in that moment. “If you say you're sorry for this situation, I will punch you,” Erik threatened halfheartedly.

Charles shook his head. He’d bitten his lip, a sure sign that he had indeed been thinking of saying exactly that. “Edie’s sorry. And she worries about you. She really does. And… If you don’t want her to come by this Sunday, she understands.”

”I need time. Cool down a bit.” Erik took a deep breath. “Maybe, you and Logan could go visit her on Sunday instead of her coming here? I don’t think a week’s enough.”

”Understood.” Charles nodded. “I’ll ask Logan. But you know he’s on your side, especially in this case?”

”He would never admit it, but I think in this particular case, he’s mostly on your peacekeeping side.” Erik flashed him a weak smile.

”Are you feeling a little better now?” Charles hugged Erik.

”A little.” Erik laughed. “You’ll have to read my mind to understand just how much I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Charles looked him up and down. He smiled. “You know, I don’t think I need to at all.”

”Okay.” Erik clapped his hands. “Any other grave news you want to discuss while I’m distracted?”

”Hmmmm… Let’s see…” Charles moved out of Erik’s way so Erik could get on with the other dough. “There’s the Christmas office party next week…”

”Already told Gabrielle Haller I’d come if you’ll let me,” Erik grinned. “She was at the Synagogue last Saturday.”

Charles pouted a little. “I’ll have to think about it,” he huffed. “What else?” He tipped his index finger against his lips, something Erik usually found incredibly distracting. “My sister asked if she and her toddler son could hop on a plane and visit me for Christmas. Mostly to escape our Mother, though.”

”Toddler?” This of course peaked Erik’s interest. “She can come.”

Charles laughed. “I’ll ask Logan too. Any special plans for Christmas?”

Erik shook his head. “Not until you mentioned we’d have guests.”

”You don’t have to celebrate anything just because of me.” Charles sneaked over to press a kiss on Erik’s cheek.

”No.” Erik emphasised his words by letting some slices of butter drop into the flour he’d already sieved into the bowl. “I like the holiday, I just skip the religious parts of it.”

”Okay.” Charles took a relieved breath. “Good.”

”Now, do you wanna learn how to properly mix and knead cookie dough?” Erik asked, making a little room so Charles could see into the mixing bowl.

~*~

Taking the day off to spend it with Logan at the kindergarten also meant that Erik could sleep an hour longer, so it had its perks for him, too. It also meant that they could have breakfast together, a rare enough occasion that even Charles somehow managed to roll out of bed for the twenty or so minutes it took them to eat together. He might have gone straight to the study to nap over some assignments he meant to grade right after, but it was the thought that counted.

Erik left the house together with Logan, knowing fully well that they didn’t have much time to spare if Logan wanted to be on time. At least he helped carrying the containers with the dough, so it kept Erik from complaining. It wasn’t him being late anyway. On the bus, Erik stood close enough that their shoulders touched the entire ride, just barely short of leaning on him.

They arrived exactly on time, much to Erik’s amazement. With twenty minutes until the first children would arrive, the teachers held just their usual morning meeting. Erik greeted everyone and introduced himself to the new apprentices who didn’t know him. Since Logan had introduced him as his husband a few years ago, Erik had no qualms at all to introduce himself as such now. It was nice to know he could just come to the kindergarten and get told they’d do it as every year.

The first children showed at seven on the dot, their parents in a hurry to say goodbye to them and get to their job on time. It meant that Logan had to work then, watching the children in his kindergarten group who arrived early and being there if one parent or the other had questions they needed to settle early in the morning. Erik followed him from the office to the group’s room, a wide, open space with two play corners and a big table where the kids could draw and had breakfast later when all of them where there. He stood by Logan, knowing fully well that the less of in a hurry the parents were, the more likely it was that they would ask him questions, making sure they had at least talked to him once before letting him spend time with their children. Erik wasn’t sure just how often he’d answered questions like “and what if a child eats the raw dough?” (“There’s no egg in the dough, no need to worry about salmonella.”) or had had to tell parents that if they wanted their kids gluten-free or vegan cookies they should have said so when signing the slip. That last type of accusation masked as a question had increased over the past few years, enough so that Erik was considering making exactly that gluten-free, vegan cookie dough and then let the children decide what they liked better.

Some of the parents who had the time and already knew him from past years or when he dropped off a cake or two for the kindergarten’s annual summer fair (Erik only stayed upon request and if he did have the time, but he usually ended up staying for about an hour anyway) stood there and talked to him for a couple of minutes, asking the kind of small talk questions about life and occupation all acquaintances asked. To Erik, it was usually more fun if some of the children mustered up enough courage to talk to him. It happened quicker with the older children who already somewhat knew him.

This year, one particularly bold child came up to him, hands on the hips like a mother about to chide and looked Erik dead in the eye, as good as that was possible with their height difference. A group of small, nervous onlookers was quick to establish around them. “You,” the kid started, drawing out the _ou_ sound. “Are you Logan’s friend?”

Erik looked around for help, particularly Logan’s, but his boyfriend was occupied with another child that just didn’t want to hang up their coat. He sighed. Then, mostly because he thought the children should probably understand without any stupid questions, he shook his head. “I’m not his friend.”

”But Logan said you were his boy-friend!” the child complained. “Yesterday!”

Erik had to stifle a laugh when he realized what he’d misunderstood. He crouched down so it was easier for the child to look at him. “Then he lied. I’m his husband, not his boy-friend,” he deadpanned. He held up the ring he usually disguised as a key up for inspection.

The child eyed him suspiciously. “Does that mean you kiss him?”

Erik nodded gravely. “Sometimes.”

The child and quite a few of their onlookers pulled a face. “Ew,” the child declared, before running off to find something else to be busy with.

”What did you do?” Logan asked when Erik had sauntered over to him. “Did you smile at them?”

Erik rolled his eyes. “I told them I kiss you.”

Logan laughed. “Okay, that is far worse than a smile.”

The rest of the two hours until breakfast went without incident. Breakfast meant that the teachers of both of the groups would greet the children and call them to the large table where everyone fitted around. Logan had explained once that they’d sing a song with the children on days without any special programm, but Erik had never been there to see that. He just sat there next to Logan and let him and his coworker explain to the children that if they wanted they could join Erik in the kindergarten’s small kitchen to bake cookies, a handful of children at a time. As soon as they were done and the children started eating their breakfast, Erik got up to have the same explanation take place in the second group as well.

After that, when all the children had eaten together, Erik spend the rest of the morning in the kitchen, teaching five to seven children at a time how to use a cookie cutter and rolling pin. As every year, the center of the children’s attention quickly shifted to the various shapes the cookie cutters Erik had brought had. There were always a few who weren’t happy with the more traditional, Christian shapes and much rather went for flowers or cars or trees or anything else really. Erik didn’t mind. If they’d ask him for a special shape, he’d probably take a unused cookie cutter and reshape it for them, but it were usually only the older children that did that. The younger ones were content with the more than rich selection already before them.

Another well loved activity for the children was that after all their cookies had been laid out on the baking sheet, they could smear whisked yolk on their cookies and then put various kinds of sprinkles on them. It was a mess and a pain to clean up after them, but it was part of the course and made the children happy. Erik would complain later, as he did every year, when he and Logan were back at home. But next year, he’d be whisking yolk with small baking brushes all over again.

At half past eleven, after a good two hours, Erik had to tell the last group of children that he’d call it a day now if they wanted their cookies baked and ready to take home. He told them to go fetch the children that had baked before them and then come back when it was almost time to go home with their breakfast boxes to pick their cookies up. Their teachers, too, would make sure they did.

Making sure every kid got their cookies was always a hassle and kept Erik busy until the last minute. The children were already almost all ready to leave, when Erik helped fill the last breakfast box with some still warm cookies. Logan poked his head into the kitchen shortly after that. Erik quickly shooed the last lingering children out to get their jackets and put on their shoes. “Everything went well?” Logan asked. Erik nodded. He took off the apron he’d been wearing to be a good role model and also to protect himself and his clothes from everything any of the children might spill.

”I suppose you came to tell me the parents will be here soon and to come see the children off with you?” Erik guessed. He still took the time to quickly wash his hands before coming to the door.

Logan nodded. He leaned a little closer. “That and I came so I could kiss you where nobody would go ‘ewwww’.” He briefly pressed his lips on Erik’s.

Erik shook his head with a smile.

~*~

Erik stayed outside until the last parent that wanted to talk to him about what they’d done today had had their chance to actually talk to him and ask whatever they wanted to ask. It took a while, but Erik did his best to remain patient answering the same question for the tenth time. He could get why they were asking what they asked, in most cases. Of course one or two mothers were also trying to flirt with him, very subtle and yet bold enough that Erik caught Logan glaring daggers at them. Some of the children came over to say goodbye to him especially, too, having had fun in the kitchen. That made up for each and every last unrelated question about cake orders and party catering.

After that, Erik returned to the kindergarten's kitchen, Logan in tow. They spend about half an hour cleaning everything and collecting all leftover ingredients. Erik wouldn’t be there in the afternoon when the children returned from their lunch at home, so they had to leave the kitchen ready to be used another time. When they were done, Erik left for the café.

In the evening, all three of them had dinner together. It was the one daily ritual they had established, long before Charles had moved in. It had taken Charles a bit to get used to having somebody waiting for him at home with dinner each day, but he rarely missed their dinner by now and if he did, he would call or send a message that he’d been held up. However, in those rare cases they’d just wait for Charles anyway. The only difference it usually made was just that the food was getting on the table still hot.

Today, they ate at the usual time. After Erik had been at the café for a couple of hours, he’d gone home just in time so he could swing by the supermarket on his way home and then cook so dinner would be ready shortly after Charles and Logan had both gotten home. They got through half the meal talking about their days, until Charles suddenly looked at Erik and noted, “You’re looking a lot happier than you did yesterday.”

Erik raised an eyebrow. “Do I?”

Charles nodded emphatically.

Logan studied Erik’s face for a moment. “We should invite you to the kindergarten more often,” he smirked. “We could swap jobs.”

Erik huffed. “I want you see working in a kitchen you have to keep clean all the time.” He shook his head. “No, but you’re right.” He smiled at Charles. “Today was a nice day. Really.”

Charles smiled back at him. “I’m glad.”

”But I’m still not coming with you to see my mother this weekend.” Erik crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’m still upset with her.”

Charles patted his hand. “It’s ok. You don’t have to.”


End file.
